New government reporting mandates go into effect in July 2021, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC)-funded after-school and OST programs will be significantly impacted by the changes.
“The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 is a public law that was enacted to improve stewardship in Federal government, and to link resources and management decisions with program performance.” (Source: Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), April 2014 v5.6)
The 2021 updates were first announced at the SEA Winter Meeting in March 2021 and impact how often OST programs need to provide reporting, as well as many of the metrics and analyses that they are expected to provide.
Plenty of research exists to show how after-school programs benefit youth and families. Programs are obligated to file reports annually to Congress, federal managers, and the public. However, changes to Government Performance Results Act reporting means programs receiving 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) grants are being asked to collect and report provide more comprehensive data to demonstrate their progress against goals. The new requirements will especially impact community-based and faith-based OST programs without data-sharing agreements in place with the school districts they serve. It will be very difficult for these types of organizations to collect all the required data because much of it requires access to student records that are off-limits to many of these types of organizations.
GPRA changes impact the frequency that programs are required to report and the range of performance measures that are reported. The collection of new performance measures will impact OST program operations, as it requires new data sources (such as the student’s performance in school, as documented in a Student Information System (SIS). As an overview, GPRA will change::
Having an online reporting and data management system like AfterSchool21 (AS21) will substantially reduce the time needed to collect and compile data. Current AS21 have access to a reporting system and automated calculations that are already updated for GPRA requirements:
AS21 is the most customizable and advanced after-school program data management software available.
Schedule a demonstration to learn more about how AS21 can make the transition to GPRA reporting requirements quick and stress-free for your OST program.